There’s something strangely comforting about ‘90s lo-fi Indie Pop stalwart Ben Lee turning to the songs of his louder contemporaries for his covers record. Though Lee is probably better known for the more accessible pop elements of that era’s alt rock music, he makes an inspired choice to take on songs by the likes of more distortion-laden bands like Sonic Youth, Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr. on Quarter Century Classix. The…
It’s sometimes taken for granted just how brilliant a songwriter Tom Waits is. The sky is blue, water is wet, and Waits can write a truly heartbreaking song. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s been making music for more than four decades; Maybe it’s that some just can’t get past his graveled vocals, but sometime all it takes is listening to a fresh take on his songs to realize just…
Drugs, sex, Jesus and a telecaster’s twang. That’s pretty much the Beaumont formula and hell, if it isn’t enough to make your whole goddamn day. On their first live record, This Is Austin, recorded appropriately enough at Austin’s The White Horse, the five Lubbock cowboys turn in a monstrously hilarious best of compilation in front of a live audience. Whether it’s singing about Toby Keith (“Toby Keith is the…
Juliana Hatfield’s 2018 tribute to Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John (naturally), was as satisfying as it was unexpected. One of the most underrated singers of the ‘90s, Hatfield, turned her distinctively impassioned vocals on songs that for decades had become shorthand for ‘80s bubble gum pop for many cynical listeners and in doing so, was able to get across her genuine appreciation for songs that shaped her as…
Ah, the covers album. Once seen as little more than a stop gap until the band could pull together enough new material for a new album, lately, thanks to folks like Corb Lund and Ben Lee’s soon-to-be released record, cover albums seem to be moving towards a much more satisfying experimental phase (Americana Lund covering AC/DC, Indie stalwart Lee covering Fugazi, for example). And while The Mavericks don’t venture too…
Kim Shattuck, singer/guitarist for the shockingly underrated band The Muffs, died unexpectedly just weeks ago, after a two-year battle with ALS that many outside of her close circle were unaware of. She left a brilliant legacy, with half a dozen near-perfect pop punk records to her name, a dedicated fanbase and a slew of heartbroken, normally jaded music journalists who were charmed by their interactions with her over the years…
It takes a real knack to retell a story that many have likely heard many times before and still manage to make it compelling. As listeners of the popular podcast Disgraceland have already figured out, Jake Brenan is that rare narrator who can. The true crime podcast focuses on musicians and those connected to them and the darkness that follows them usually connected to fame, drugs and sexual appetite, (but…
Who would have thought some of the best Outlaw Country-inspired music would be coming out of the Pacific Northwest? On Right On Time, their second LP and first since 2015, The Lonesome Billies pick up right where they left off, but with a little more groove this time around. Across a dozen tracks of twangy Telecaster riffs and a baritone that even Waylon Jennings would envy, The Lonesome Billies prove…
If Dr. John grew up a punk rocker in the Midwest rather than in the jazz and funk clubs of voodoo-soaked New Orleans, chances are he’d sound a lot like Jake La Botz. On They’re Coming For Me, the Nashville, by way of Chicago, musician turns in a wildly eclectic, deeply satisfying gumbo of blues, funk, jazz and even snatches of rock. And despite being decades younger than the brilliant,…
Nineteen-seventy’s power pop never sounded so good. Portland-based four piece Daystar may borrow inspiration liberally from bands like Big Star, Wings and Badfinger, but their songs still manage to smack of originality. The Complete Recordings is a masterclass in building, taking the foundation of some of the best post-Beatles bands to ever commit to wax and then erecting a wildly satisfying modern take on those sounds. Comprised of veterans of…
There is no venue more appropriate for Old Crow Medicine Show to record their live album in than Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, the 125 year old historic landmark that was once formerly known as the Grand Ole Opry and is essentially mecca for Country, Bluegrass, Americana and all of the various offshoots. It also happens to be the local venue for the brilliantly talented Nashville-based Americana String Band Old Crow Medicine…
Long before the current generation of garage rock punks were even birthed, the Dogmatics were pioneers of the genre, with the band’s brilliant 1986 debut and for 30 years, sole release. The Boston band is finally back with the 5-track She’s The One EP and time has certainly been kind to the band. The themes of this album are wildly, pleasantly all over the place, from the title track; the…
For close to a decade now, Brett Newski has been living the troubadour life. And not, “oh, that guy tours for a month at a time, he’s a real troubadour.” No, the Wisconsin-based musician Newski, began his career in 2011 with a six-month Southeast Asia tour. He followed it up the next year with a 20-date South African tour and has pretty much been on the road ever since –…
Seattle, the city that brought you grunge, and one of the only emo bands that every really mattered (Sunny Day Real Estate), is not the first place you think of for witty, melodic warp speed pop punk. But The Subjunctives just might change that. On Sunshine And Rainbows, the trio reel through 15 blistering tracks in just over 30 minutes, leaving you both spent and wanting more. The band spans…
Ray Wylie Hubbard may not be top of mind to casual Country/Americana music fans, but he certainly influenced a slew of the musicians making that music today. It seems rather appropriate then that Hubbard’s peers and acolytes would come together to explain his musical brilliance in writing. The Messenger, though not the best book to explain the life and career of Hubbard (that one would be his own 2015 memoir,…
Cover albums usually go one of two ways: They are either exhaustingly mediocre exercises in stalling while the performer buys time until a new record is finished or, in very rare instances, it’s an example of an artist being able to stretch way beyond expectations and their relegated genre and deliver a satisfyingly compelling album. For Corb Lund, the latter applies here. The only real downside to Cover Year Tracks,…
Coming off with a vibe close to the first Jonny Polonsky record or the output from Daniel Johnston, Matthew Squires latest is bedroom pop at it’s best. The production, though cleaner on Squires album than the other examples, is minimal at best allowing for the songs to come across in the most organic, natural form possible. It’s been just three years since his last release, but his knack for writing…
At the invitation of longtime friend Lucinda Williams, Jesse Malin caught her opening set at Tom Petty’s final show. That moment eventually led to Malin writing the beautifully sanguine “Shinning Down” (complete with a perfect Petty jangle guitar sound throughout), a track midway through Malin’s latest Sunset Kids. The song is a brilliant encapsulation of the record, carrying on Malin’s punk-bred singer/songwriter vibe that has defined his solo career; songs…
Ezra Furman made the declaration recently that Twelve Nudes is his punk record and as much as he’s flirted with the genre over his past few albums, the anger, spiked guitars and red-throated vocals are clearly front and center here. That vibe is underscored perfectly with the scorching opening track “Calm Down aka I Should Not be Alone” careening to a crash after a Ramones-appropriate two-minutes-and-22 seconds. Some of the…
It’s been almost a decade since Rob Laufer last focused on his own music. In the interim, he served as a producer, songwriter, guitarist for hire and music director for Wild Honey Orchestra. While he was in high demand from others, his voice as a solo artist was sorely missed over the past nine years. The Floating World is proof that not a bit of rust set in on his own work.…
